Every Ending Is A New Beginning
by Mrs Pepperpot
Summary: What do you get if you take a popular Labyrinth movie fan theory and the ending of said movie and mess around with it a bit? Why, you get this one-shot-fanfic, of course! What if every girl who ran the Goblin King's Labyrinth was called Sarah?


**What do you get if you take a popular Labyrinth movie fan theory and the ending of said movie and mess around with it a bit? Why, you get this one-shot-fanfic, of course! I can't post links on this site, but I took the essence of the fan theory by Glamdamnit (search on tumblr) which has also been written about in articles by i09 and BuzzFeed, and put my own twist on it. I don't know if anyone else has written stories based on this theory, but I couldn't find any. I'm sure someone will point me in the direction of them, if such stories do exist. **

**I do not own anything related to Labyrinth, or the theory by glamdamnit, this story is meant as nothing but a fan homage.**

**Please do let me know your thoughts on this fic, if you should have any, and thank you for taking the time to read it - Mrs P.**

* * *

><p><span>Every Ending Is A New Beginning<span>

Jareth assumed all was lost as he fell into nothingness. Clock chimes rang out and time fragmented around him. It was over. And then, it wasn't.

The next thing he knew, he was in owl form, flapping around in the hallway of a mortal dwelling place. He escaped out into the night sky, eventually swooping down and landing on a tall tree next to a small window. There he saw Sarah, partying with his subjects, she won, and he lost. He flew away from the celebration of her triumph and spiralled into blackness.

A booming voice echoed through the void.

"_The curse is broken," _it said.

"How? Jareth's voice was a desperate owlish shriek. "I wanted her to be _my _Sarah, but she turned me down."

"_She is the one, and it is done," _the voice was imbued with solemn certainty.

He felt the weight of a thousand years or more pressing down upon him. The face of every boy ever wished his way flashed before his eyes. They were all transformed into goblins by his hand, except for the last one. He saw each girl named Sarah who, one by one had wished away their baby brothers. The right words gifted to them by magical means. Hundreds of them came and went, leaving behind what they failed to win back.

"_Time will be reordered, and the lost shall be returned,"_ the voice proclaimed.

Jareth was sure he'd fallen into a dream state as he watched a glittering whirlwind blow through his ruined castle. The goblins cowered wherever they stood as they were engulfed in a swirling sparkling haze. Gasps of wonderment escaped their leathery lips as they were picked up by the breeze and carried away. One by one they disappeared, back to the lives they were wished away from. None would remember being a goblin, except perhaps in their deepest dreams.

All the creatures that dwelled in the nooks and crannies of the Labyrinth were spirited away to pastures new. The ruined kingdom crumbled to dust and the walled maze folded in on itself, sinking beneath the stagnant water of the bog from which it was once raised.

"What is to become of me?" The Goblin King no longer had any subjects or domain to rule over.

"_You brought this fate down upon your own head with your unquenchable thirst for vengeance. For many years you were lost to madness, searching for your original Sarah, when she was already dead and gone. But you've been gifted a second chance by an innocent girl who believed in you. She accepted your challenge and won. In doing so, she broke the curse you'd set upon yourself. Your search is over," _the voice declared.

Jareth could feel his magic seeping away, and the burden of centuries of bitterness was lifted. He was so tired; all he wanted to do was sleep, forever.

"Alkazar, am I dying?" He gasped his voice but a mere whisper on the wind.

"_All mortals are dying, it is what they were born to do, and so shall you, but not yet…"_ the words faded into the black void that was consuming everything Jareth once was.

His world had fallen down, and he was falling still.

* * *

><p>Sarah Williams made her way along the frozen streets to the hospital where she worked. It was starting to get light and so far, hers were the only feet to have made indentations in the freshly fallen snow. The grey sky was full of white fluffy clouds that burst into occasional flurries. It brought to mind memories of pillow fights with her baby brother, and the times the seams would split sending white feathers billowing into the air.<p>

Toby, the child she'd once selfishly wished away, was now thirteen. They were close, but the influx of teenage hormones had left him taciturn and surly. He only wanted to hang out with his friends and didn't have much time for an older sister with a tendency to coddle him. Sarah hoped he would one day emerge from this difficult phase, as she once did. She sometimes thought a return trip to the Labyrinth would do him the world of good, but she never spoke the words out loud.

Her childhood dream of following in her mother's footsteps to become a famous Broadway actress, crumbled. Reviews for college plays, branding her wooden and hammy, led to much soul searching. Her lofty childhood ambitions shrank with age and experience, eventually giving way to more practical career choices. The desire to help others became her driving force, and Sarah decided to pursue a career in medicine, she never looked back. Now aged twenty-seven, she was an ER nurse, filling her lonely free time with volunteer work, helping anyone and everyone who was down on their luck.

Sarah had never been short of male admirers, being beautiful both inside and out. She tried hard to make relationships work, but a broken engagement was her latest failure. When it came down to it, they always felt more for her than she did for them. It was as if there was something missing with every guy she'd dated, and none of them could completely fill the empty space inside of her. Sarah didn't know who she was searching for, only that she hadn't found him yet.

Her breath was coming out in bursts of white fog as she shivered against the icy breeze. It was a relief when she reached the entrance to the ER and a warm blast of air hit her.

"Hey, Tony," Sarah greeted the desk clerk at the door as he gave directions to a discharged patient.

"Well, now, if it isn't our very own Snow White," he winked.

Her love of fairy tales was well known among the hospital staff. She could often be found reading to the younger patients, and sometimes the older ones too, during her break times.

"Which of the seven dwarfs are you?" Sarah teased; Tony was as camp as Christmas and twice as colourful.

"I'm Horny, and still waiting for my Prince Charming, the same as you," he chuckled.

She joined in his laughter and followed him inside. It was busier than usual, which was to be expected with the cold winter weather really starting to bite. A pair of bright blue eyes watched her from afar; he would make his introduction soon enough. Sarah recognised a few homeless people from her occasional stints volunteering at a nearby soup kitchen. They were probably more in need of a warm place to rest rather than medical treatment, but she couldn't begrudge them that. Her heart went out to them, she had a comfortable two-bedroomed apartment to call her own, and these people had nothing. Her ex-fiancé mocked her charitable endeavours, dubbing her Saint Sarah, which was one more reason she wasn't sorry they broke up. Everyone needs a helping hand sometimes, she'd told him. Twelve years ago, she got a whole bunch of them.

The Labyrinth and its inhabitants were long gone, but the lessons Sarah learned stayed with her. The Wise Man told her, during the party to celebrate her victory, _"Sometimes, to need is to let go." _After that, the childhood clutter she'd been clinging onto was gradually thinned out. Precious keepsakes were packed away and meaningless junk re-gifted. But some things didn't need to be let go of, like Hoggle, Ludo, Sir Didymus and Ambrosius, because they would always be a part of her. And then there was Jareth; her teenage fantasies were fuelled exclusively by him for many years after their encounter. She didn't regret choosing Toby over him, but the older Sarah got, the more she realised what she'd turned down. He facilitated her sexual awakening and left her with an itch no other man could satisfactorily scratch.

It is easier for children to believe there's magic in the world, she would often muse, because they're more open to such possibilities. Usually, the older a person gets, the more closed off they become, until their minds are as narrow as their beliefs. Sarah worked hard to keep hold of the little bit of magic in her soul.

"Hey, girl, you got your head in the clouds again?" Sharonda, a fellow nurse, pulled her from her reverie.

"Always," Sarah smiled.

Her colleague was a middle-aged woman with a big personality and heart to match. They got on well and the older woman was always looking out for her and trying to find her dates. An endeavour that was unsolicited and not always welcome, but Sarah knew she meant well.

"Any interesting cases come in?" She inquired as she divested of her thick dark green winter coat and matching scarf.

"The usual, but we got ourselves a John Doe in curtain three. Officer Ramos came in with him, and he said they found him in Owl's Head Park last night, naked as the day he was born. Ain't that park close to your apartment?" Sharonda asked as she shuffled through a stack of files.

"Yeah, pretty close," Sarah headed off to the staff room to stash her things in her locker.

"John Doe is very cute, maybe he's single," her friend called after her.

She rolled her eyes; another deadbeat was the last thing she was looking for.

Sharonda was persistent; she hovered about as Sarah started her shift.

"Here," she thrust a set of notes in her hand.

"Why don't you go check on John Doe? The poor thing don't remember nothing about who he is or where he's from," the older nurse was full of sympathy for the mystery man.

Sarah began to trudge reluctantly towards the curtain area, knowing her friend wasn't going to let the matter drop.

"He's got a real sexy accent, British, I think, and the strangest eyes I ever saw," Sharonda's voice echoed after her making her blood run cold.

She stepped closer to the closed drapes around the mystery patient's bed, and reached out a shaky hand. _It's not him, _Sarah told herself, as she tugged at the fabric, creating an opening wide enough to peek through.

A blond-haired man with a slim build lay under the white sheets with his back to her. She felt a nervous fluttering in her stomach as she traced over the outline of his lithe body with her eyes. He shifted about in his sleep and Sarah sucked in a breath as she waited for him to turn over.

"Oh, my god," she gasped dropping the notes on the floor.

Sharonda was close by and she rushed over to help pick up the papers.

"You alright, honey? You look like you've seen a ghost?" She fussed.

Sarah couldn't speak; the Goblin King was the last person she ever expected to see again. Twelve years later, and he looked just the same, except his blond hair was shorter and tamer. His pale skin stood out against the surgical green of the hospital gown. He wore no makeup and looked almost human, although not quite. There was still an otherness about him.

"I'm fine, really," she managed to wave away her friend's concerns.

Jareth blinked into consciousness and gazed at her with a spark of recognition in his strange eyes.

"Do I know you?" He questioned, easing himself up on his elbows.

He had a strong feeling he'd met this dark-haired beauty before, although he knew not where or when.

Sarah struggled to regain her composure and professional detachment. She readied the machine to take his blood pressure realising she was going to have to touch him.

"The more pertinent question should be; do you know me?" Jareth was captivated by her green eyes, which made him think of summer meadows.

She didn't answer either inquiry as she wrapped the Velcro-fastening cuff tightly around his arm.

"I seem to have forgotten who I am, you see," he murmured, not appearing to notice her failure to respond.

Sarah was reminded of a sad lost puppy dog by his melancholy demeanour. She had never seen his hands without gloves and found herself staring at his long tapered fingers.

"You don't remember anything?" She questioned scrutinising his face for any tell-tale signs of deception.

He was so achingly attractive, but she couldn't let herself forget who he was, even if he had.

Jareth shook his head with a puzzled frown as he tried to piece together the fragments of memories that were haunting him. When he closed his eyes, the faces of strange creatures popped out at him from the dark.

"I see a castle and a sprawling maze, they are familiar and yet I do not know where they are to be found," he sighed.

It was as if he was trying to hold onto the silken threads of a dream that were swiftly being carried away on a breeze and out of his grasp.

The blood pressure machine beeped, startling Sarah out of her thoughts of another time and place.

"Try and get some more rest, I'll be back later to check on you," she unfastened the cuff from his arm and scribbled a quick note on his chart.

"Wait," Jareth grabbed her hand.

They were both forced to catch their breath as a tingling sensation passed through them at the skin on skin contact.

He frowned, like he was remembering something. His elegant eyebrows tilted as he concentrated on an image in his mind's eye.

"Dancing," he murmured.

Jareth could hear the ghostly echoes of a song in his head.

"I see us dancing."

Sarah gently pulled her hand away from his, half wanting to run far away and half wanting to join him on the bed.

"Rest, I'll be back later," she promised, eager to remove herself from temptation.

Jareth sank back against the pillows and closed his eyes.

Sarah drew the curtain, her knuckles growing white as she balled her hands into fists to stop them shaking. The Goblin King was right there, after twelve years, he'd returned. She didn't know why, and neither did he, apparently.

"Multiple trauma cases incoming from an RTA," Tony yelled from the desk.

It was all hands on deck, and Sarah snapped back into gear. Figuring out what was going on with a magical being from another world would have to wait.

* * *

><p>It was hours later, when Sarah finally got a moment to herself. Thoughts of the Goblin King had been pushed to the back of her mind as she got on with her job. He wasn't forgotten though, and she kept stealing glances in his direction whenever the opportunity arose. Once or twice, she got the feeling someone was watching her, and she looked around for the culprit. There was an elderly man in the waiting area with bright blue eyes that were somehow familiar to her. He avoided meeting her gaze, but Sarah was sure he was keeping tabs on her.<p>

She steeled herself to go and check on Jareth, but when she got to the curtain area, his bed was empty.

"Looking for Mister-Sexy-No-Pants?" Sharonda was passing by and noticed Sarah's alarm over the missing mystery patient.

"Quit it, I just promised to check on him, is all," she huffed.

The older nurse nodded and tried to suppress a smirk.

"They took him upstairs to a private room."

Sarah let out a breath she didn't even realise she was holding.

"He's someone else's problem now, I guess," she tried to feign disinterest.

Her friend gave her a sly wink and she blushed.

"Huh-uh, you won't want to know he's in room thirteen then, will you?" Sharonda grinned as she walked away.

Sarah was due a break and figured it wouldn't hurt to look in on him. She proceeded to the elevator, and could have sworn it was empty when she stepped inside. Hitting the button for the first floor, she turned around and found she had company. The old man with leathery skin, white hair, and bright blue eyes, who'd been watching her from the waiting area, stood smiling at her. He was much shorter than Sarah, forcing her to look down on him.

"Do I know you?" She questioned, feeling strongly that they'd met somewhere before.

"You do and you don't," he replied, mischievously waggling his bushy eyebrows.

Sarah narrowed her eyes with suspicion, which turned to alarm, as the lights flickered and the elevator ground to a halt.

"Hey, what's going on? Who are you?" She loomed over him, making him appear even smaller than he was.

"Don't you knows your old friend?" He smiled, his voice suddenly so familiar.

Sarah looked deeply into his bright blue eyes, and her own grew wide with shock.

"Hoggle?" She gasped.

He nodded and bashfully bowed his head.

"But how?" She could scarcely allow herself to believe it, he looked so human.

"My real name is Alkazar, and I was bound by a magic spell for centuries. My physical being was transformed into the dwarf you knew as Hoggle, while my powers were harnessed and contained within an amulet which was worn around the Goblin King's neck," he explained.

"What? I don't understand, how come you never mentioned any of this before?" Sarah wondered if she might be hallucinating, it was all so bizarre.

"I didn't know the truth about myself until you broke the curse and freed me. I had no memory of my past life, or the words I'd set against Jareth, until you solved the Labyrinth and won back your brother," he appeared to be in earnest, but she was more confused than ever.

"Why don't I start at the very beginning?" Alkazar said, observing the puzzled look on her face.

"Once upon a time, I was known throughout the lands as the most powerful sorcerer who ever lived. I trained many of the greats, such as Merlin Ambrosius, who I know you're familiar with. One day, I was passing through a village, a long way from here, when I chanced to meet a young peasant boy. I could tell right away that strong magic coursed through his veins. He begged me to take him on as my young apprentice, and I agreed. The boy was a quick study and soon his powers rivalled mine. The years passed and he grew into a handsome man, gaining admirers wherever we went. It happened, that one day we passed through a village where a beautiful young woman lived with her father, stepmother and baby brother. She caught the eye of my young apprentice and he fell madly in love with her, and she with him. He begged for her hand in marriage, but her father refused to part with her, as she was practically the stepmother's slave. We were called to another place on business, and the young woman promised she would try and persuade her father to change his mind while we were gone. We were away for longer than expected, and it was almost a year before we returned to the village. My young apprentice was eager to see his lady love again and went directly to call on her. He was met by the woman's stepmother, who informed him that his sweetheart caught a chill while washing her brother's clothes and had succumbed to a high fever. He couldn't accept that she was dead and accused them of hiding her from him. He became a man possessed, searching through spells and books on dark magic, until he found what he needed. I tried to calm him, to reason with him, but I knew he was lost to the madness of his grief. He swore that someday he would find his lost love and that he would need a kingdom fit for his queen when she returned to him. His plan was to send out a magical book to young women who matched the description of his beloved. They would be compelled to wish away their troublesome baby brothers to him and he would turn them into goblins if the girl failed the quest. His will was stronger than mine, and all I could do was to set my words upon him as he cast his spell. I said, that if a worthy girl ever passed his test, then the curse he'd put upon us all would be broken."

Sarah was speechless, she opened her mouth but no sound came out. Somehow, she knew he spoke the truth, and it broke her heart.

"Jareth is no longer the Goblin King, he's mortal now and will remain so," Alkazar informed her as he smoothed back his wispy white hair.

"I don't understand. Why is he here?" She finally managed to find her voice again.

He gazed up at her, his blue eyes twinkling under his bushy brows.

"It was a Sarah he lost and a Sarah he found. You passed his test and set us all free," he was full of gratitude and admiration.

"What about all those other girls, the Sarahs who failed, and their baby brothers? I know Jareth was driven to insanity by heartbreak, but he ruined the lives of so many in the process," she couldn't reconcile that part of his actions.

Alkazar smiled warmly and with serenity.

"When you broke the curse, the goblins were restored to their original forms and I reordered time to place them all back where they belonged. The other denizens of the Labyrinth were returned to their old homes or given new ones. I could have turned Jareth to dust along with his fallen Kingdom, but I decided he should get a second chance too," he explained.

Sarah was aghast, she didn't know what to think or feel.

"Why send him here after all this time, where I would find him?"

Alkazar's eyes sparkled with mischief.

"Your adventure happened twelve years ago for you, but for him, it was only yesterday. You were too young for what he wanted back then, and now you're all grown up," he winked.

She blushed at the implication; her attraction to Jareth was undeniable. But in light of all she'd learned, could her feelings for him ever blossom into love?

"What do you want from me?" Sarah asked, scowling with suspicion.

There was an explosion of glitter, and Alkazar was left holding a brown leather pouch in one hand and a crystal ball in the other.

"I'm offering you a choice," he said.

"I'm putting Jareth's fate in your hands, as he once held your fate in his."

"No," Sarah protested, backing away as far as she could to the cold steel of the elevator walls.

"I don't want that responsibility."

"You won, it is your right," Alkazar's tone was uncompromising.

"In this pouch is everything Jareth needs to live a mortal life, a birth certificate, a passport, a bank account, it's all in there," he held the brown leather bag aloft.

"And the crystal?" Sarah questioned, her stomach lurching over the possibilities.

"It will return him to the moment you defeated him and he will crumble to dust with his ruined Kingdom," Alkazar frowned; it wasn't something he took lightly, even after all the Goblin King had put him through.

It was too much for her to process; she sank to the floor and closed her eyes. Jareth's face filled her thoughts, and her mind replayed their final showdown in the ruins of the Escher room, when she told him he had no power over her. If that were true, she wouldn't have cherished the memory of him for twelve years. She wouldn't have thrilled at the feeling of his skin on hers, when he grabbed her hand in the ER. If she felt nothing for him, his strange eyes wouldn't captivate her so and make her want to lose herself in them. His touch was magical, mortal or not, and no other man ever made her feel so much from so little contact.

"Will he remember who he was?" Sarah questioned, thinking it might be better if he didn't.

"Yes, he'll know, but it will fade like a dream over time, for both of you," Alkazar suspected she'd already made her choice.

"I don't know what to do." She put her head in her hands.

"Part of me has always wanted him," her own honesty shocked her.

Alkazar gave her a sympathetic glance and held the brown leather pouch out for her to take. She reached out, and stopped just short of grasping it.

"I once called you a friend, and I meant it, so please tell me honestly, can Jareth and I ever make each other happy?" Sarah withdrew her hand.

"I'm not the one he lost, the one he loved," she let out a sad sigh.

"Aren't you? None of the others believed in him and his kingdom, the way you did. He could see you were special from the first moment he set eyes on you. Do you think he visited all the other girls in his owl form, or begged them to stay with him?" Alkazar did not doubt Jareth's feelings for her.

"Even if that were true, we're practically strangers, familiarity can breed contempt, not love," Sarah wanted to follow her heart, but she'd been burned too many times.

"I can show you a possible future, the rest is up to you," he spun the crystal in his hand until an image began to form.

She watched with fascination and a smile slowly spread across her pretty face. She happily took the pouch and held it tightly to her chest.

"The choice is made," Alkazar declared.

"What happens next?" Sarah questioned.

She noted the hands on her watch hadn't moved on one second since the elevator came to a halt.

"It's time for me to go," Alkazar flicked his wrist making the crystal ball vanish in a small puff of glitter.

Sarah blinked back her tears and smiled.

"Will I ever see you again?"

He shrugged.

"Probably not, but you never know, if you should ever need me..." he winked.

Sarah let him help her up onto her feet and she pressed a tender kiss to his forehead.

"Thank you."

"Jareth is one lucky rat," Alkazar chuckled.

"Now, go and live happily ever after."

She saluted as the elevator whirred back to life and she was left alone, holding her future in her hands.

* * *

><p>"Enter," Jareth's voice rang out in answer to the knock on the door of his hospital room.<p>

Sarah was forced to suppress a smile as she stepped inside and saw him toying with a bowl of lime green jello.

"I would sooner drink a goblet full of bog water," he declared pushing it away in disgust.

His memory had obviously returned.

"How are you feeling?" Sarah tentatively inquired, taking in his sullen expression.

"Ordinary," he sharply replied.

"Disgustingly, wretchedly, hopelessly human," Jareth's words dripped with contempt.

His regal poise, odd eyes and pale otherworldly good looks, marked him out as anything but ordinary.

Sarah sat down on the bed and set the brown leather pouch she'd been clutching to her chest on the nightstand.

"Is it really so bad, being human?" Her hand rested a few inches from his.

Jareth's fingers twitched longing to close the gap between them.

"I don't belong here," he sighed and drew back from her.

Sarah ached to see him looking so defeated; she grasped his hand and entwined her fingers with his.

"You belong with me," she announced, to his surprise.

He gazed into the pale green jewels that were her eyes. She was older, he could see that now, her beauty had blossomed and grown from the promise of her youth. This woman deserved someone who could move the stars for her, not a shadow of a once powerful being.

"I have nothing left to offer you," Jareth lamented flexing his free hand, knowing he would never again feel magic flowing through his fingertips.

Sarah shook her head in admonishment.

"You know that's not true, you can still give me my dreams," she edged a little closer to him.

The indefinable empty space inside her that no man was ever able to fill, had now found its missing piece, of that she was sure. Her gaze lingered on his sensual lips as she waited for him to make his move.

Jareth was beginning to think that being human might not be so bad after all. When Sarah was by his side, he didn't feel lost or alone anymore. He closed the space between them, his mouth tentatively seeking hers. Their tender first kiss soon deepened, until they were wrapped in each other's arms, and in danger of activating the former-Goblin-King's blood pressure alarm.

They were left panting for breath when they finally broke apart.

"Alkazar came to see me," Sarah saw the fear in his eyes and quickly sought to reassure him.

"He told me everything, and it's okay, I understand why you did what you did," she kept her hold on his hand.

"I was insane," Jareth was filled with remorse and he turned his head away in shame.

"Alkazar thought you deserved a second chance, despite everything, and you know what? I do too," Sarah coaxed him to meet her gaze.

"He gave me a choice, and I chose you," she reached for the leather pouch.

"We can be happy together, Jareth, I've seen a glimpse of our future and the family we could have."

"Children?" His face lit up.

"Will you consent to calling our firstborn Jareth?" He was quite serious.

"Oh, brother," Sarah rolled her eyes and opened the pouch.

_What would her surname be if they got married? _She wondered.

"What is that?" He questioned as she pulled out a bundle of documents from the bag.

Sarah carefully unfolded the birth certificate and she broke into a grin.

"Mister Jareth Ratten, aged - thirty five, pleased to make your acquaintance," she giggled.

He scowled as he flicked through the various papers certifying his human status.

"A million US dollars," he sighed disinterestedly casting aside a bank statement and gold credit card.

"What?" Sarah gasped, snatching it up to see for herself.

"I suppose I'm practically a beggar," Jareth glanced with distaste at his hospital gown, longing for his regal finery.

Her mouth was hanging open in shock and she snapped her jaw shut, drawing in a deep breath before replying.

"Oh, let's just say it should help keep you in the manner to which you are accustomed."

He shrugged, knowing nothing of money, and caring less.

"I'll try and find out when you can go home," Sarah's break time was over and she was due back at work.

Jareth looked despondent.

"I no longer have a home," he sighed.

Sarah smiled and leant over to plant a soft kiss on his lips.

"Sure you do," she informed him.

"You're quite the catch you know, Mister Ratten."

**THE END.**


End file.
